Saturday, July 2, 2011

Musings of an aspiring Yogi!

Ever since I did my first Chakrasana when I was like 10 yrs old, I have loved to twist and contort my body into various shapes. As I grew older I realized that for the kind of hyper-active brain that I have been cursed with, yoga was a wonderful release. So when I decided to take myself to a god-forsaken part of karnataka for a Yoga Instructors Course, it seemed natural.
In order to keep my darlings abreast of my discoveries of myself and my surroundings, I sent them an SMS everyday. This post is a compilation of all those SMSes...a window into my tryst with Yoga.

Day 1: Introduction to our fellow aspiring Yoga instructors, and our uniforms for the month. A sky blue kurta and deep blue tracks. I'm not sure I like it  but I love my pink yoga mat.

Day 2: Discovered some new muscles in my body when they started to hurt, and my taste buds are going to be dead by the time I leave here but I'm loving it!!

Day 3: I'm a nerd in yoga school too. People are making fun of me for taking it too seriously! Also I'm not built for meditation. Snooze Festival!!! :D

Day 4: My taste buds made a narrow escape from the jaws of death!..yummy hot Pongal for breakfast! Plus i met a firecracker of a woman from Taiwan!

Day 5: Introduction to Power Yoga...the most invigorating thing I have ever done. Plus Im trying to make friends with a doggie.(Ramu)

Day 6: Met a wonderful lady from Kerala who is teaching me to do Chakrasana with one leg in the air. Feeling like I'm rediscovering my body.

Day 7: Sutra neti and jal neti day today. Feel like  more air is going through me now.And I'm in awe of our instructor, hes 6 feet 4 inches and so bendy. hehe!

Day 8: A spellbinding lecture from a 80 yr old man and the first time I laughed like crazy since i came here! Lovely day..

Day 9: Saw fireflies for the first time in my life..felt like i was in a fairy tale.

Day 10:  Had a conversation in 'Nalla Tamil' with someone today. I miss home  :(

Day 11 and 12 : Preparations for the Silver jubilee celebrations and the mid course exam! Lots of free time..bored and not liking it.

Day 13: Mid course exam day...was weird to write exams after long. Also had an awesome conversation with a wonderful Columbian woman married to a Kashmiri.

Day 14: Learnt to do the Sarvangasana with my legs in Padmasana today! Felt fabulous..soo much to learn.

Day 15: Learning some really crazy stunts from a super cute guy from Nepal! Plus my article will come in the paper tomorrow! Happy me!!

Day 16: Stomach cleansing Kriya today! What a puking symphony it was... feel light and energetic though.

Day 17: Was shown a beautiful spot on the campus..windy and wonderful..and I had a heartwarming conversation with our Nepali Yoga expert and a super sweet girl who is a masters in Sanskrit and Music.Impressed by the diversity of the group.

Day 18: I find myself at the center of controversy and my first day of teaching the yogasanas..was good fun and a lot of laughs. Love the group i have been put in :D

Day 19: A horrible dark day for a super sweet woman and women in general. The world is full of conservative bigots!!

Day 20: Had a completely new perspective of Bollywood from a fantastic woman from Chile.She said "I wanna get married and live in London."

Day 21: Frustrated by all the chanting and bhajans, a bunch of to be yogis grooved secretly to Sheila ki Jawani. Was pure uninhibited bliss!!

Day 22: Restless energy resulting in doing repeated Suryanamaskaras at a fantastic location looking at the sunset.

Day 23: Got a campus tour with Mowgli (as she is fondly called), a fantastic free spirited seeker of berries and fruits in this gorgeous place.

Day 24: What a lovely day! Vented some of my pent up frustration, someYah-Yahs in the making and my first group hug in this place..I love women!! We are awesome!! Plus learnt some fantastic games..laughed till my stomach hurt.

Day 25: The most uplifting day ever!! Was in a wonderful bhajan session..singing and dancing! My body is still tingling from the vibrations!!

Day 26: Shoving things up your nose and puking exam!! Was alright..cant wait to get done now.

Day 27: Spending most of my time having conversations with the people I have grown close to and giving exams.

Day 28: Report presentation day..reunited with my love for public speaking. Plus our group conducts the asana session tomorrow, so preparing earnestly.

Day 29: We do a fabulous job of conducting the last asana session of the course and visit to Art of Living Ashram. Cant wait for tomorrow!!!.

Day 30: Saraswati Homah and distribution of certificates. We are officially Yoga Instructors now.!! Yay!!!

It was a tumultuous journey..the 30 days and 30 nights.. but something I can cross off my bucket list now!!

9 comments:

Kushang Moorthy said...

Nice blog baby.. apart from the bendy boys stuff! :P just kidding re :)

Srinidhi said...

I loved that you took us along on your journey. :) It was lovely. :) I am not a very yoga person, but knowing you, I am sure it was amazing. :)

I am glad you went, experienced and shared your joys :)

Maybe its time I learnt yoga :P

Between life's doings said...

lovely D!! Wonderful update of your month long yoga journey...i totally love yoga :-)

Parth Jhala said...

Yoga Instructor sounds super cool! Must have been quite some experience! Really well written blog too..captivating!

P:s My favorite is shavasana. Rocks.

D!! said...

Thanks kush!! you become a bendy boy and I wont look at the others ever again!!


Mins! I will teach you...you will love it!!

D!! said...

A!! we should do some Yoga thing together!! will be super fun!!


parth!...u wont believe how many times i have had my shavasana corrected..i suck at relaxing!! thanks for reading!!

shuuuu said...

My god i feel all bendy now :D:D:D... so super mittu :) ...good job man ..I would love if you were my instructor

Zeba Siddiqui said...

What a heart-warming post! :-) I started practicing yoga a few weeks back too and love how invigorating it is.

D!! said...

Shuuu!! Didnt see your comment till now!! its awesome! will be starting a class real soon!!



Zeba: Welcome to my space..n welcome to yoga! i have been practising for over 6 years and i love it everyday!!